by Zy J. Rykoa
Chapter Four
Some memories are better left forgotten.
January 10, 997 R.E.
Jaden remained asleep on the cave’s floor, his dreams revealing a haunted landscape he had never before witnessed. Shadows of clouds moved rapidly across the dry, swollen surface, pushed by the same harsh, blistering winds that made the hills wail their terrible melody. The sky glowed with a sickening orange, broken only by the black of the storm clouds above him. He was alone in this tortured place, without even a sign of civilisation for as far as the eye could see.
The only things alive seemed to be the ashen grasses beneath his feet, but they barely clung to life. They longed for moisture, teased by the clouds that would not rain; forgotten by those giant ghosts that floated so close and yet so far away. The grasses had known the need of their cure since first rising through the earth, enjoying tastes of what little was given, but they had become hardened and untamed, forced to survive in this savage, barren wilderness.
It was here they had come to know their creation. It was here they would come to know their end.
Like the grasses, Jaden was here for something—something he needed to survive. But if the grasses were simply in need of moisture, for what was he searching? What was his need?
Jaden could understand their existence, as it was not so different to his own. Like them, he was at the mercy of the natural world, and he too relied on his ability to adapt. With each step, he could feel the dry blades fold beneath his feet. They would bend as far as they could to survive, and then they could collapse, beyond repair. It did not seem right for him to walk upon them with this new found kinship, but he consoled himself in knowing that nothing would last forever, and all that was before him was already doomed. The little water about would disappear, the dirt would be poisoned, and the sun would scar the ground so that nothing would grow again. There seemed little purpose in going on to face such adversities when absolute demise was a certainty. But somewhere in the grass’s mindless existence, the urge would stay their hearts, and they would find peace, living in one moment, one time, satisfied by ignorance.
Jaden walked on. Like them, he would not give up.
As he reached the top of a hill, there was a prickling at his consciousness—the same he had felt at the waterfall. There was energy moving about him, spears darting in and around. It was the same sharp movement he had asked Alyssa about. But now they were only a faint whisper in the back of his thoughts. There was a more urgent matter in this desolate place, something strange and alien. He could sense death in the emptiness, a horrific fate awaiting him and those like him. It was something he had to find, to bring back, to stop the evil that roamed free around the world in its absence. The spirits of old were taking hold and protecting what was no longer theirs, in a time and place that nothing seemed to remember. He had to find what it was—the key, the relic—that was once held by his ancestors. He would sacrifice everything he had for it, to restore harmony to a reality of terror and mayhem, so that beauty might be known once more on the planet. This could have been what he was here for; his cure, his need.
He stood his ground as strong gusts of wind threatened his balance, blonde strands of hair whipping at half-closed green eyes, momentarily blinding him. The spirits must have been testing him, he guessed, or warning him not to go any further. What lay ahead in the darkness was not for the vaguely aware, nor the faint of heart.
The gusts softened into a breeze, allowing him sight and movement again. He could go on searching—if he dared.
He stopped.
It had come. Whatever it was he was here to find, to see, to take … it was here. And now that he had it within his grasp, he wanted nothing more than to be rid of it. No more did it hold promise of peace and harmony. It carried with it only bloodshed, betrayal and destruction. It felt as nothing else. Hate, evil, a hybrid of all that brought ruin. It could not be understood. It was an impossibility of creation itself, a paradox conjured in the most twisted of minds and set free only to wreak havoc among those that wished to live, to grow, to know happiness. It was the enemy, not the cure as he had thought. He was not to embrace it. He was to destroy it.
Behind him, he could feel its source moving closer. He turned, blinded again by the searing hot winds as he was forced to his knees and held down. He could sense nothing holding him, but he could not get up, nor move at all. He was allowed only to look to his right, where there was a dark line heading west, down by the black, oil-like sea. He judged the line to be a military force; servants of war seeking their next victims, thousands of men marching alongside the many hundreds of armoured vehicles, all sent for no other purpose than to inflict more pain on the innocent.
He lowered his head. It was a sign of the war’s continuation; a sign of which he had wished to remain ignorant.
The wind slowed. The war would be forgotten for now. There was still the greater danger at hand.
He looked to where he had felt the evil presence, no longer hindered by the wind or strange force, yet saw nothing. Vast expanses of dying yellowed grasses, through which he had walked only minutes ago, were all that lay behind him. In confusion, he focused back on the military force, feeling the need to find what he was looking for again. He then scanned the hills to no avail, just more barren fields of grass, and then he looked to the sky. It seemed lit with fire, even without the sun. There was a band of yellow too bright to look upon, stretching from horizon to horizon as it burned noiselessly in the outer atmosphere. His eyes fell to the ground as the light became unbearable and then he felt the blood drain from his face as his heart skipped a beat.
Someone had come.
Someone else was here.
The newcomer was standing in front of him, as if suddenly appearing from the air. Jaden looked fearfully, expecting to see a beast of unimaginable horror, the bringer of doom, but was shocked to see only a boy—a boy with black hair, in tattered grey rags, seemingly of little threat or significance.
Was this boy what he was meant to fear?
With a shake of his head, Jaden lifted himself from the ground, believing now more than ever it had all been a lie, an illusion put before him to make him turn away from a quest that didn’t exist. Whether truth or fiction, one thing was certain; a boy of such an age shouldn’t have been out in the open, not in such close proximity to a military unit. He would take the boy home, if he could find it. Children were often stranded, left alone after being orphaned by senseless attacks. It was a sad thing, and inevitable in these times.
He walked closer to the boy, hoping to discern his origin from his features, but the boy turned before he could reach him.
‘Your home, is it far?’ Jaden asked, not wishing to frighten the boy, but he then realised no words had come. There was no sound, not even the wind dared speak, the grasses now lying in silence. He tried to take another step forward and found even the freedom of motion had been taken from him. Fear had frozen the blood in his veins, as if the child in tattered grey rags had petrified him. It was the same as at the waterfall. Paralysed. He must have been closer than he thought to what he was here to find. He struggled, fighting the invisible bonds to be free again. Anger rose at this relentless, unjust imprisonment, yet it too was unable to surface, trapped deep inside by the ice of what held him still.
He couldn’t let it win, he thought, he had to fight it.
Suddenly the ice in his veins melted. There was a change. Something was different. He had lost all feeling again. He could only sense something around him, behind him. For a moment the spears became stronger and faster, and then they changed too. They blunted, yet were somehow deadlier without shape. They no longer felt like single entities, they felt more like … power. There was no other way to describe it. They had morphed into a power that felt as if an exploding star, in both temperature and proportion, was readying for release as it threatened to destroy all that was before him. It would mean the end; he and the grasses would be reaching their termination well short of
their expected destinies. Their efforts would have been in vain. Jaden had to stop it, for the good of those he knew as family. His mind searched frantically for a way of preventing it, to delay it even just for now. He couldn’t let it happen.
It was too late.
His arms ignited in flame as it came forth and he screamed out in agony, cringing forward as even the air he breathed seemed to burn, and the earth beneath his feet shook with a fury unmatched by the strongest of quakes, and then … nothing.
Nothing.
He woke, struggling still to be free of whatever had held him. His arms were outstretched, performing erratic motions in the air until he realised what he was doing. Sitting up under the weight of his own consciousness, he no longer saw the barren fields of dying grasses, only the dark rock of the cave he had reached the night before. He stared out into the green of trees, blinded by the contrast from dream to reality. It was daylight. He had slept through the entire night at the cave.
Alyssa.
He had to meet with Alyssa.
Without a second thought, he jumped to his feet and sprinted back down the mountain, scolding himself for not waking sooner. He had hoped to be at the stables before she went riding; if he hurried, he might still catch her, though he knew it unlikely.
As he ran, he tried to think of what he was going to talk to her about. He wasn’t sure why he had asked her about the strange movement in the ground, but somehow he knew that she would have felt it too. Was this why he felt drawn to her like no other? Were they experiencing the same feelings because they were destined to be together? Perhaps he could mention the strange dream he had just had, as she may have had one too. He knew it might come across as too sudden, as they barely knew each other, but there was nothing else to talk about for now.
His mind went blank as he thought of the dream; its shadow ever present in his memory, its feelings not forgotten, its evil still vivid in his mind.
He shook his head. He had to forget it. It was just a bad dream. He couldn’t let it jeopardise his meeting, not now, not today, not when he had organised to actually speak with her. While he wanted to pursue his curiosity about how she had known about the sharp movements in the ground, he wanted to talk about her even more. If this didn’t go well, he could never be sure when he would get another chance, as Ardim was always lurking nearby.
He reached the village an hour later. Out of habit more than anything, he checked to make sure Ardim wasn't in sight and then proceeded to the stables. Bo and the others were not at the flat stones this day, most likely with their families eating lunch instead. There were only the usual girls there and a group of children running around playing games happily that no one but themselves understood.
Jaden then realised how long he had slept. The sun was already high. Alyssa would have already left. He let a long breath out as his shoulders fell in disappointment. He had missed his first meeting with Alyssa; now he would have to wait until she returned almost at dusk, and potentially risk an intrusion by Ardim. There was nothing else he could do.
He felt like running to find Ardim now to let out some anger, to vent his frustration. But he would not succumb to his impatience. He would find something else to do. He needed a way of passing the time, to take his mind off what had happened, as well as the dream. He thought about helping out in the fields, but work right now seemed utterly repulsive. To have missed Alyssa only to spend the day doing something he didn’t want to do just didn’t seem right. He could go visit his friends or talk with the elders about the previous night’s game, but then, he wouldn’t want to intrude on his friends’ family time, nor be seen as a sore loser as he protested the defeat to the elders.
He sighed. At times, Bo was right it seemed. As beautiful as life was in Callibra, it could really become quite boring.
A loud thud sounded to Jaden’s right. He turned instantly as he heard a scream and then someone bursting into tears. It was a young boy, no older than five with the same shadowed blonde hair as Jaden’s. Jaden then realised who it was. It was his younger brother Tommy. He had tripped and fallen head first into the stables. Jaden ran to him, gently moving the other children away so that he could reach his brother.
‘Be calm, I’m here,’ he said to Tommy, who immediately reached out with his arms for Jaden to pick him up. ‘Where are you hurt?’
Tommy put a hand to his forehead. ‘Here,’ he whimpered, his eyes red from the tears streaming down his face.
‘There’s a graze, but it will heal easily. I’ll take you to mother, she will make it better,’ Jaden comforted.
Receiving a nod from Tommy, Jaden picked him up and began walking toward his home, trying to keep his step as light as possible so that he would not shake Tommy while carrying him. He remembered being carried in this way when he was Tommy’s age. Their older brother, Ryan, had always helped Jaden when he had hurt himself, up until a few years later when he left to fight in the wars. It didn’t make sense to him then, and it didn’t make sense now, why Ryan had chosen to go. Suffering from boredom in Callibra was bad enough, but to risk your life in a war to escape it seemed insane.
Jaden often wondered if Ryan regretted his choice. Was he enjoying his new life? Would he ever return? He had not sent word in years.
Jaden thought no more at that point, not wishing to venture anywhere close to the final question. He knew he would not be able to cope if the answer was anything but Ryan was still alive and well.
As Jaden reached his home, he found his sister Embra standing outside. She was leaning lazily against a chest-high stone wall, appearing somewhat callous and mocking in her stance, as if she were watching something she thought was quite stupid.
‘Where is Mother?’ Jaden asked.
‘Inside,’ said Embra, not taking her eyes away from what she was looking at.
Jaden went straight to the screen door and opened it with one hand, making sure not to hit Tommy as he walked in. He was then in the living room, where the warm cream-coloured walls calmed him a little. They were lined with white to match the roof, and the tiles were a peach orange coordinating with the darker beige of the furniture. The room was full of rugs of intricate design, uniquely carved tables, delicately painted pots and exotic plants. Unlike most of the houses in Callibra, many of the things possessed by the Daiyus family came from other nations, brought here by his father and grandfather alike. It had become the unspoken yet acceptable reason for jealousy among his people, and another excuse for Ardim to bully him. Yet their reason for hate was his reason for comfort. This was the home he cherished, his sanctuary. Those he loved and loved him in return had raised him here, and he would not have traded it for anything, not even if it meant less taunting from the village.
‘Mother,’ said Jaden, and around a corner with a pot plant in her hands came a woman of grace, soft features and long, brown hair. ‘Tommy needs you.’
Knowingly, their mother, Sayva, set down the plant she carried on a dark stone bench and took Tommy in her arms. ‘What happened?’ she asked, her voice smooth and soothing.
‘He tripped, grazed his head here,’ said Jaden.
Sayva looked at the graze and kissed it softly.
‘Thank you, Jaden,’ she said.
Jaden bowed a little as Sayva took Tommy away. She would clean him up, just as she had done with Jaden all those years ago, and then she would put her hands over where Tommy had hurt himself, as if magically able to heal him.
It did seem like magic, Jaden thought. Sometimes cuts would disappear by the next day, bruises would be gone within hours, and lumps would never come up. He had asked her how she was able to do it, but the answer was always how strongly she loved her children and nothing more. He couldn’t guess at how it worked, only that somehow they responded to her touch as if she were the most brilliant doctor alive.
Whatever it was, he was thankful to have her taking care of them. There was no kinder person he knew, nor gentler of spirit in the world. When they were in need of help, she would be the
re for them, without regard for her own well-being. She was their mother, and they would be there for her in the same way.
Outside, Embra was still leaning lazily against the wall.
‘What are you looking at?’ asked Jaden, coming up to stand beside her.
‘Them.’ Embra nodded in the direction of a group of people standing around a woman who had watched decades go by in her life. ‘Another traveller claiming to know everything.’
Jaden smiled. ‘Everything, huh?’
Embra winked at him. ‘She’s yours.’
Jaden seemed concerned. ‘I don’t know. I’m not sure if I have the time to educate today.’
Embra laughed. ‘Liar.’
‘I better go see what she’s talking about.’
‘Don’t be too nice!’ Embra called out behind him.
He replied with a cheeky grin. He often spoke with Embra in jest when it came to people who claimed to know everything. If they ever felt slightly bored, they’d often use them as a means of entertainment, something Jaden needed more than ever right now. He quickly joined the audience standing around the woman and couldn’t help but smile for a moment. The perfect way to pass some time had come. There was little he enjoyed more than debating those that assumed that the village was full of ignorant fools. He almost liked it more than tennagen. But talking would never have the same appeal. Listening to people’s mindless ramblings was something he could handle only for so long. He would become bored and start to think of ways to get away from them, but recently he had been too lazy and had ended up just walking away, hoping they wouldn’t follow.
This woman looked different to the others though. Up close, the wrinkles etched in her features were more apparent, making her appear older than she had at first glance. She was as hardened as any traveller there was; eyes swollen from the dusty winds, blackened by lack of sleep, bushy blonde hair robbed of its once youthful vibrancy, and tanned skin so tough that it resembled the leather of her sandals. Her clothes were tattered and grey, looking more like pieces of cloth thrown over her than actual garments, and there was a smell that suggested she hadn’t bathed in many days. Still, despite her dishevelled appearance, her smile was wide, and there was joy behind her eyes, as if merely being able to talk with people, to tell them her stories after so long, was enough to keep her going just that little bit longer. But most apparent of all was the wisdom she seemed to possess. Unlike the others, she was calculated. Her words were far from the mindless ramblings he had come to expect.
‘And that, my dear friends, is how I found the jewel of Ilah!’ she finished. Her audience was mainly comprised of children around the age of ten, who all gasped in delight, while the older listeners stood idly like Jaden behind them. ‘Now,’ she continued, ‘what shall I speak of next?’
‘The Alliance!’ called out a child.
‘No, the Resistance!’
‘Ukota!’
‘Good choices, all good choices!’ said the woman warmly. ‘But what about something darker, something more secret … something you’d hear of nowhere else?’
Jaden eyed her suspiciously. It was bad enough to talk as if she knew everything, but even worse to tell of something no one else knew about. What could she possibly think she knew exclusively? He would have interrupted a traveller at this point, usually, but he found himself curious rather than objective, and decided to listen intently.
Along with Jaden, the audience was silent in anticipation, waiting for her next words.
‘I come before you today with a story often thought to be of myth and legend, fragments of which have been passed around the entire globe for centuries. Even the strange creatures from the Ukotan jungle have a part in this story, for their rise came when humankind had come closest to its end! Yes, I speak of the Forgotten Years.
‘No one can say for sure why we do not remember them, nor when they occurred, but by our calendar, we assume it was nine hundred and ninety-seven years ago. The Forgotten Years,' she repeated slowly. 'Ah yes, you might question how I can know of them if they are forgotten, but, they are named thus only because all but a select few have indeed forgotten them. There are those still roaming the lands that remember, and they will risk their lives to prevent them from returning. You see … it was in those times that our world lost its way and became victim to something quite mysterious. In the early months of its arrival, life flourished. Everything became healthier, more beautiful … more wonderful. Even humans were able to run further, jump higher and heal faster. It seemed a divine blessing! But this utopia would not last. The very thing that had made life so much easier was the very thing that would cause its ruin!
‘As everything became stronger, very few things made the crossover into death. Loss of limbs seemed to matter not, the blood would somehow stop running and the creature would not care for what had happened. Soon even the loss of brain function and vital organs would not hinder the life forms. Their flesh would remain animated, but they would change. In both animals and humans, personalities would become more aggressive, hateful, and yet strangely happy. They would kill others, or try to fight them, for reasons we cannot even guess. Humans would wear smiles as they inflicted their sick and deadly wounds upon their victims, and so it soon became known as the beautiful death.
‘The beautiful death, yes … for one was seen as dead if cursed by this strange disease. Those that were still healthy were forced to retreat from lands that were contaminated, taking refuge where they could. Armies were sent to combat the hordes forming around them, some even hoping to put an end to this evil, but the creatures were evolving, they were becoming harder and harder to fight back. You see … they were eating one another, unknowingly combining their strengths. Beasts and humans alike, some with very little flesh on their bones, were soon standing at over fifteen feet high, deformed and unrecognisable from what they once were. They were the spawn from hell if ever there were to be any. And this is how the creatures in Ukota first rose as one of the most vicious predators on the planet.
‘What happened next … no one is sure. Even those that have remembered so much know nothing. And so it is with great pride I show you this next piece of the puzzle, for it is one of the only pieces left in existence! I call it one of my greatest finds on my most rewarding treasure hunt, and you’ll see why now!’
The old woman paused to reach into her backpack and bring out two scrolls, one coated in plastic, covered in dirt with holes and crinkles throughout it, and the other seemed new, as it was made of paper with only travel dust over it. She unravelled the paper first and placed it on the ground, keeping it open with some stones she found nearby. She unravelled the second delicately, taking the greatest care not to damage it any further, and then held it up for all to see.
‘Can anyone tell me what this is?’ she asked.
All stared as hard as they could, trying to discern the pictures and lines they could see under the muck and liquid stains.
‘A map!’ called out a child.
‘That’s right,’ said the woman, ‘but can you tell me of what this map is?’
Again her audience stared but remained silent. Some looked almost as if they wanted to shout something out, but thought better of it after more thorough consideration.
‘An expected response,’ chuckled the woman. ‘You are right not to recognise what you see here, for this is the world as it looked before the Forgotten Years.’
Her audience was stunned as they all leaned closer to carefully examine each and every detail they could.
‘You might notice your continent is nowhere on here. Where you might have found Aurialis …’ She pointed to the new map and then back to the other, ‘there is water. And where the great continent of Equadon rests now, there existed a land called “Aus-lia”. We do not know their real names … only what letters are left on this map. If you look here, Cejian is in place of “Mer-ca”, and the others … I cannot read well enough.’
‘You think the entire face of the world was changed?’
asked Jaden, suddenly switching from curious to objective.
The woman looked up and scanned the audience, searching for the one that had spoken, but was evidently unsuccessful as she looked to several different people as she spoke next.
‘Think? No, no, I do not merely think it. I know it as fact. This map is proof!’
‘Proof that in a matter of years all the continents were changed to look entirely different?’ asked Jaden.
The woman spotted him. ‘Ah, I see you,’ she said, ‘come forward. That’s better, I do not like to converse with those who stand behind others. It is not polite, you know. Now, as for your question … maybe not years, the Forgotten Years is merely a name, but the continents could have been changed over centuries, thousands of years perhaps.’
‘It would take millions just to move them. For what you suggest, all life as we know it would have been made extinct.’
The woman smiled as if she had expected every word he had said. ‘You are right. But they were strange times, where the impossible was made possible—where the weak became strong and the strong became invincible. Do not underestimate the Forgotten Years; it was both an amazing and tragic time—horrors and miracles went hand in hand.’
‘I understand,’ said Jaden, ‘but how could it be possible?’
The woman’s smile faded to a charmingly bemused grin as her eyes wandered upward to the right, then crossed over to the left. She then leaned backward on the log she was sitting on and took a deep breath, as if contemplating how best to deal with a troublesome child. As she released her breath, she rolled forward again, lowered her brows as she leaned closer and asked him, ‘Do you know what is possible?’
‘I know that the continents changing that quickly is impossible.’
‘That is not what I asked. I asked do you know what is possible?’
‘Possible is what can happen,’ said Jaden unsurely.
‘Simply put, that is correct. Now let me ask you this; do you know of all that can happen?’
‘No…’
‘Then how is it that can you claim now that something cannot happen?’
‘I know I cannot touch the stars, but I can touch a lamp. It is a matter of scale. There are things that are just impossible.’
‘Or are they?’ asked the woman. ‘You know, it was once thought impossible for humans to make shields of energy that would defend the innocent. Imagine that, a power from your own hands able to challenge and defeat missiles from the Alliance. “There is no way it could be done!” they said when the stories were first reported, and yet now here we are today, accepting that the Daijuar do have such abilities, and we know it as fact. So, my young friend, I ask you again; what is possible?’
‘You still speak on small scales in an attempt to prove the large,’ said Jaden, now losing hope that this woman was any different from the others.
The woman looked at him sternly then began putting the maps away, glancing up at him occasionally.
‘Very well,’ she said finally as she had seen her audience had grown restless. ‘You want something more to scale … I shall give it to you. Look to the sky. Don’t be shy. Right now. Look up.’
Jaden reluctantly glanced upward. How would this prove anything?
‘What do you see?’ asked the woman.
‘Clouds,’ he said.
‘And?’
‘Rings…’
‘That’s it! Rings.’ The woman sounded triumphant.
Jaden looked down again. ‘What do they prove?’
‘They prove the Forgotten Years were real.’
Jaden paused, thought about it for a moment, and then said bluntly, ‘No they don’t.’
‘Be quiet, rodent!’ came a harsh, deep voice.
The woman turned to her left, stunned at the sudden intrusion.
‘Let her tell her stories, go bother someone else!’
Ardim had joined the audience and was now looking threateningly at Jaden.
‘Shouldn’t you be scaring children to sleep or something?’ asked Jaden, bending down then to those sitting in the front row and whispering, ‘Run, children, the Ardim is coming!’
‘It seems I shall have to continue this another time,’ said the woman, getting up. ‘A pleasant day to all of you.’
She bade them goodbye as Ardim continued to stare at Jaden.
‘Shouldn’t you be bleeding?’ he yelled.
‘Doubt it,’ Jaden said to him, and then turned to the children again. ‘Quick,’ he whispered loudly, ‘now’s your chance! I have it distracted!’
Ardim stuttered, once, then twice and almost a third time before he yelled, ‘You want to get hurt, runt?’
Instantly he was dashing around the crowd to reach Jaden. Jaden laughed and hopped back a few steps before sprinting a few yards away from him. He stopped as he heard Ardim fall heavily to the ground, a young man bigger than even Ardim standing over him.
‘Don’t get up!’ said the young man holding Ardim down.
Jaden laughed even more, ‘Look, your brother has come to save you … isn’t that nice?’
‘You! Get out of here,’ said Ardim’s brother strongly.
Jaden nodded and turned to leave, but not without giving one last laugh to Ardim before he did. Ardim responded with an aggressive, hate-filled look, mouthing the words, ‘You’re dead.’
Jaden couldn’t stop laughing as he wandered away casually, a victorious smile on his lips. He then strolled contentedly through the village, now feeling satisfied. He had always enjoyed querying travellers on the truth of their stories, but seeing Ardim become furious to the point of choking was a pleasure that would not soon be bettered. It was as close as he could get to revenge for all the trouble Ardim had caused. He didn’t like to fight with people, he often wished he could relax the tensions between the social clans, but knew from the wisdom of the elders it was best to keep it. It forced them to remain strong in the face of danger, to challenge their wits and their ability to keep their minds on track no matter how many emotional distractions there were. It was as it had been for centuries, and there was nothing to suggest it might change anytime soon.
As he neared the waterfall’s edge, the adrenaline in his veins subsided and his pleasant mood faded almost immediately. Memories of what had occurred on his last visit were coming back to him, all that he had felt, all that he had seen … and the dream; the harshness of the fields of grass, the burning in the sky, the military movement far below, and the boy.
That boy.
So innocent and so evil—what was his purpose? Why did he seem so real? Jaden didn’t understand how a dream could have had such an effect on him, or why he asked questions about it at all. He felt strangely drawn to it as if it were something more than it was … something he had to keep, to remember above all else. It was as if it had actual importance. He then recalled the feelings again, those he had felt while he was in the dream and while here at the waterfall. It had felt the same. How? What was happening to him? Was he going crazy?
As if in response to his questions, the feelings began to build again, swirling and darting around as they had before. He almost lost consciousness as the air was seemingly sucked from his lungs and claw-like grips wrapped around his ankles, increasing their pressure until the point of agonising pain. And then he heard a voice, far away at first, then right next to him.
‘Water is interesting. I too could stand here and watch it all day, though I think I’d rather watch this green stuff behind me grow. Most amazing! Look at that…’
Jaden withdrew out of his thoughts.
‘Grandfather,’ he said, turning to where he had heard the voice.
‘Hush, hush! I’m busy,’ said Vennoss, waving Jaden away as his gaze was set firmly over his shoulder at the ground behind him, where it seemed he really was looking at the grass.
Jaden shook his head, finally grasping where he was. Gone were the feelings of foreign movements. Only the light of day was presently in his mind, and the vision of his grandfath
er standing next to him—the old yet somehow youthful appearance of the man who had helped him so much in life. His shoulder-length white hair and short beard matched his robe, except that the robe was lined with purple that glittered in the sun. All of these things had become a welcomed sight to Jaden. No matter what had happened throughout the day, it would put him in a state of calm, the mere notion of Vennoss being near able to remind him of the greater purposes in life.
‘Grandfather, enough.’
‘What? Am I not allowed to observe my surroundings as you do?’
Jaden laughed at how nearly convincing Vennoss had been as he had asked the question, as if he were a badly treated child that had finally learnt to stand up for his rights.
Vennoss smiled and his voice became deep and kind once more. ‘How have you fared since my departure?’ he asked.
‘Good, and bad, and … I’m not sure.’
The childish look came over Vennoss again as he grinned in delight. ‘Ah, a riddle then … it seems I have returned just in time. Walk with me. Come. Come! Tell me all there is to know.’
Jaden fell into step beside him as they walked away from the waterfall and back toward the village.
‘We lost this piece of land,’ he started. ‘Is-dimmer-than-post threw a rock and hit my leg. I was almost there … it should’ve been our game. The elders didn’t see what he did, so they awarded the victory to the Pioneers.’
‘Tragic … tragic,’ said Vennoss, his tone still in a mock strain. ‘It is a sad day when we cannot win in a sport to keep a piece of dirt. Absolutely terrible.’
‘It was serious. They were counting on me…’
‘And they will count on you again, if they have the chance.’
Jaden stopped walking. The tone Vennoss was using had suddenly lost its playfulness.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
Vennoss signalled with a nod. ‘Keep walking. I will explain on the way.’
Jaden followed, his head now down as they walked.
‘It is not good news, I’m afraid,’ Vennoss went on. ‘Our land is no longer safe from certain “threats”, you might say. The Resistance is not holding so well, though it remains intact, for now.’
‘The Alliance?’
‘Is gaining in strength by the day. Their forces are growing. There is rumour of new allies, among those that have sworn neutrality in these matters. Now it appears all are under suspicion, and the Resistance has no means of knowing from which side it may be attacked.’
‘What does this mean for us?’
‘It means, my child, that you may be seeing your brother sooner than you think.’
‘I'll be going to the wars?’ asked Jaden.
‘Yes, I know it is not something you wished, or at least, not in this way. However, there may still be hope yet.’
‘How?’
‘I have been roaming the land in search of support, and I have found it in the great city of Waikor. Some friends are in high places there. They have agreed to do everything they can to assist us. Unfortunately, they will not send their military here … we will have to go to them.’
‘And leave Callibra?’
‘It may be our only chance to survive,’ said Vennoss. ‘But, do not trouble yourself with such matters yet, I am merely telling you now so that you do not place so much importance on a game when there is so much more to the world.’
Jaden bowed his head. ‘I understand.’
‘I know. But, that is enough of all that is wrong. Today is as good a day as any to rest and ponder on all that has occurred.’
Vennoss had stopped outside a home not too far from Jaden’s. He opened the door to go inside, saying over his shoulder, ‘I will come visit you on the day four nights away. I have not had the pleasure of an easy rest in quite a while.’
‘Grandfather,’ said Jaden, ‘there is something else.’
‘Oh?’ Vennoss took a step back out of the door.
‘I have had … dreams. But they are not dreams, they are real.’
‘I see, and they are good?’
‘No … bad. I feel something moving around me and pulling me into the ground. I can’t explain it too well, it just … the pain … it hurts. I can’t sleep.’
Vennoss’s thick eyebrows curved upward together. ‘I see,’ he said. ‘In this dream, if this movement were to be one, would it be ahead of you or behind you?’
‘Ahead at first, then behind … no, I can’t say.’
Vennoss nodded slowly. ‘I will think on it. I will tell you my thoughts four nights from now.’
Jaden bowed as Vennoss went inside and closed the door.
In the past, there was nothing he couldn’t ask his grandfather and get an answer to. He had hoped it would be the same now, but knew that this was not as simple as his other problems had been. No one had ever told of feeling awake while sleeping in all Callibra’s past. It was pointless to go to one who studied medicines. Even the elders would have no knowledge of what the cause might be. Vennoss was his only hope.
Jaden breathed out, trying to forget what it could all mean. Alyssa would be back soon. He could meet with her at the stables as she arrived. It would be the perfect distraction from an otherwise clouded day. But as he neared the stables, even this was soured. Ardim had got there before him, and Alyssa was already back. Ardim had his arm firmly around her shoulders. All Jaden could do was stare in disbelief. As fate had dictated so many times in the past, his chance would be lost for yet another day, week or even month.
He sighed inwardly.
Maybe his grandfather was right. Maybe today was as good a day as any to meditate on all there was, to be alone and in tune with one’s own thoughts and no one else’s for a change.
There was nothing else to be done.
With a sinking feeling in his chest from watching Ardim with Alyssa, Jaden forced himself to turn around, and then walk slowly home.